Sen gets revenge as defending champions fall on Day 3
Three defending champions were knocked out on a drama-filled Day 3 of the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2025.
The first champion to fall was the men’s singles holder Jonatan Christie who was beaten by India’s Lakshya Sen in a composed performance.
Sen had suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Christie in the last four in 2024 and this time got revenge as he triumphed 21-13 21-10 in just 36 minutes.
The world no.15 was always ahead in the first game after opening up a 4-0 lead at the start.
In the second, he was behind for only the first point before powering away to claim a statement win.
He said: “I’m happy with the way I played today. I was expecting a really strong match.
“Hopefully this gives me a really strong start in the quarter finals and I’m delighted to win the match.
“There’s a lot of Indians in the crowd out there. I really enjoy playing in front of them – a big thank you to them for coming out and supporting all of the Indian team.”
In the women’s doubles, champions Baek Ha Na and Lee So Hee were overpowered by former winner Jia Yi Fan and her partner Zhang Shu Xian of China. round.
They were on the wrong side of two closely fought games as Jia and Zhang triumphed 21-18 21-18.
The day ended with a marathon match that saw men’s doubles champions Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto of Indonesia knocked out, ending hopes of a hat-trick.
View this post on Instagram
The fourth seeds lost out 21-18 25-27 23-21 to Kang Min Hyuk and Ki Dong Ju of Korea in 80 minutes.
While others faltered, top women’s singles seed An Se Young made it through but admitted she had to draw on all her experience inside the Utilita Arena and move past Kirsty Gilmour.
The world no.1 took the lead but was unable to stop a defiant Gilmour from levelling before a mental reset for An saw her take the match 21-12 16-21 21-8.
Meanwhile, a new star is being unearthed in the women’s singles with Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan advancing through a decider.
The seventh seed has only just completed her schooling but played beyond her years to beat Beiwen Zhang of the USA 21-18 10-21 21-17.
The 18-year-old said: “I graduated from high school the other day!
“It was sometimes difficult to get a good balance between school studies and badminton.
View this post on Instagram
“I was not able to make it last year, so I was watching the tournament on TV. Now I am here, the atmosphere is very different, and the court is great.
“I don’t know how to express my joy – I have some tension and nervousness as well but I’m so glad to be able to be here for the first time.”
In the mixed doubles, Greg and Jenny Mairs’ fairytale run continued as they reached the quarter-finals.
The home hopes have announced their retirement but have to keep postponing their celebrations to mark the end of their careers.
They enjoyed an assured 21-19 21-16 victory over Ruttanapak Oupthong and Jhenicha Sudjaipraparat of Thailand, who sat 26 places above them in the world rankings.
They will face Lee Jong Min and Chae Yu Jung of Korea who beat the fourth seeds Yang Po-Hsuan and Hu Ling Fang in straight games.
Other seeds to fall were men’s singles world champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand who was beaten by Alex Lanier of France.
In the men’s doubles, the seventh seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were forced to retire while 21-16 2-2 down to Hao Nan Xie and Wei Han Zeng of China.
The number two seeds followed them out of the door as Won Ho Kim and Seung Hae Seo defeated Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin of Malaysia 21-16 21-13.
View this post on Instagram
In the men’s singles, second seed Anders Antonsen fell to a 21-10 21-13 defeat against Tzu Wei Wang of Chinese Taipei to end Danish involvement at the second-round stage.
Wang said: “Because he is a very strong player and when I prepared I just wanted to do my best.
“In January, I lost to him in two games so this time I didn’t have any pressure I just had to focus on the court.
“Every court has a side that is faster or slower, this time I chose to play on the faster side first to use my speed to have more top speed which I think was a success.
“My goal is to stand on the podium and this is the most famous tournament so I hope I can do better and better.”
Last tickets available for the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2025. Book now to guarantee your seat to watch the world’s best badminton players compete! All England Open Badminton New | All England Badminton
Photo courtesy of Badmintonphoto
